Pondering an IPO, cyber security company CrowdStrike raises $200 million at over $3 billion valuation

CrowdStrike, the developer of a security technology that looks at changes in user behavior on networked devices and uses that information to identify potential cyber threats, has reached a $3 billion valuation on the back of a new $200 million round of funding.

The company’s hosted endpoint security technology has seen tremendous adoption worldwide and its popularity was able to win the attention of General Atlantic, Accel, and IVP which co-led the company’s latest round. Previous investors March Capital and CapitalG both participated in the company’s new financing.

For companies seeing the number of devices that are accessing their corporate networks proliferate rapidly, the CrowdStrike hosted security technology is one of several potential fixes to what’s becoming a significant problem.

For CrowdStrike that’s meant doubling revenues and headcount and winnin contracts with over 16% of the Fortune 1000 companies and 20% of companies in the Fortune 500.

The company claims that its software processes over 100 billion “security events” a day and its automated threat detection service makes 2.3 million decisions each second.

The company has a $1 million warranty offer on itsĀ EPP Complete solution.

Other security companies like Cylance and Carbon Black have raised hundreds of millions for similar technologies. Indeed, the security market remains hotly contested in part because no technology has yet come up with a silver bullet for cyber attacks even as the number of attacks continue to proliferate.

Many chief security officers at big companies have mandates to only work with vendors that can replace at least three existing technologies that they’re already deploying, according to sources in the security industry.

In a blog post announcing the company’s new round, chief executive George Kurtz acknowledged the increasingly complex security environment that companies face, calling it “more global and dangerous” with lines blurring between “nation state and criminal adversaries”.

That’s why security companies like Cylance, Carbon Black and CrowdStriike have raised over $800 million between them. And why security remains such an attractive area for new venture investment.